Friday, January 27, 2012

Not the Real Housewives of New Jersey kind, but rather the Jeff Lewis kind (clearly I've seen my share of Bravo TV). On any given day there are a plethora of tables for sale on Craigslist - for ridiculous resale prices I might add! Somehow many people think they should get the near same amount of money for something they overpaid for 5 years ago! Puh-leez. So my aim in refinish-resale with regards to the over-flowing stock is to find ones that are unique, truly vintage and have some character. At an honest, reasonable price. And for my purposes, the more roughed up the better!

Here is a table I bought off craigs for exactly what is was worth, less than $50. It was your standard pine, shellacked table but with lots of wear, which saves me the trouble honestly, and had a center drawer. Making it a perfect 'farmhouse' style candidate.

Here I had begun stripping the top to remove the finish and start with fresh wood underneath.

Then I stained it with 'ebony' by minwax and as you can see, the wood didn't absorb it evenly. But that's OK, we want to make it uneven and worn looking anyway. It's just a starting point in achieving the look we want.

Sorry for the bad photos, I took them with my i-phone in garage :p

Then I applied a technique called 'white washing' which you can read about here, and actually did 2 applications to lighten it enough over the dark stain. Then I flipped it upside down, and painted the body in a mineral gray by Behr that is like clouds on an overcast day...not gray, but not truly white either.

Perfect kitchen size to seat 4 or could use as a desk!

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The next one doesn't have any before photos because it was taken apart and stacked against the back wall of my garage. It was listed for $25 and when I showed up to buy it, the owner was looking frantically for a missing piece (as her dog gnawed on an unknown 'chew toy' next to it-ahem). Then as I lifted one of its 'v' legs to inspect, it broke in half! She and I looked at each other in disbelief and then she said 'ummm, you can just have it.' Yeah, Okay.
So here it is, no before shots other than mid-painting. I distressed rather heavily and sealed with a few coats of varathane which is always best when doing tables. At least on the table tops because it creates a smooth, safe barrier against coffee and food stains as well major scratches. It's what is used to seal hardwood floors most of the time.

Here is a snapshot of my garage so you can see what I'll be working on next!

More tables, a desk/hutch and some dressers.

And I am so THRILLED (and terrified at the same time) to announce I'm moving into an antique mall in a couple months!!! This will make things all the busier around here but it's a dream come true and a great way to get increased exposure. My mom will be coming out to help me fill it with 'smalls' and get it set up. So I am spending a lot of time 'hunting and gathering' off craigslist these days. I can only do this during the day when the kids are in school so I can take out the carseats, pull out the bucket seats and haul things....it's quite the endeavor. I've got it down to a science now though ;)
In other news, my hubbie is back in school to complete his Masters Degree, something he's wanted since I met him (8 years ago). This on top of his day job - so well, it's a little crazy these days between the two of us. But I'm so proud of him and happy to support it :) Even if it means my kids eat microwaveable meals 4 times a wk :o They're not complainin'!
Till next time....

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

It's over!! Halleluiah...whoever decided kids should take a 2 wk (18 days actually) winter break over the holidays must not have had any themselves. Don't get me wrong. I love my babies, luuuvvv them ~ but 18 days is torture. For all of us :p Not to mention the hubs took 2 wks off at the same time which in theory sounds helpful, but really it's just an extra person 24-7 to have to cook, clean, do laundry, clean, etc. after. We did lots of fun stuff though, took kids to all the parks, trails, even some new ones. We rode bikes, scooters and watched movies. And of course they had all their new toys from Santa to play with and yet toward the second week they were already climbing the walls and I was reaching for my merlot!

Phew, so nice to have a quiet, CLEAN home today ;) For the 8 hours it lasts anyways! How were your holidays?

Prior to all that, I've been busy busting out some new pieces and the theme has been various shades of white. With no snow here in Austin (yet) some white seemed in order this time of year. First up is a dining set from the 1920's, and unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the chairs before it sold (bad blogger!) OR any before shots...I'm just kicking myself...but it had a matching buffet that I did manage to photograph with the table before it all sold:

They had lovely legs and details that unified them as a set.

And of course there had to be some shade of blue somewhere...it's just not finished to me otherwise:

I was a little bummed that this set sold as individual pieces, one couple bought the buffet, another lady bought the table and chairs. It felt like I was breaking up a family that has lasted almost a hundred years together!! Sigh....at least they got new life for more years to come :)

This next piece was a HUGE undertaking that I had no real idea what I was in for. I had been looking for the perfect armoire/computer cabinet for my office. My etsy shop supplies, sewing machines, and my laptop were in need of some better organization. I saw this at the local Salvation Army one day and fell in love. I didn't even think about how I was going to get it home (and had to pay extra for delivery), how much it was going to weigh (had to pay extra for oversize item plus an extra delivery person), or when it was finished being redone in my garage, how I was going to get it inside the house (paid same delivery people to come back-they did so begrudgingly).

I had tested out some chalk paint in old white here. I had to paint her by hand since I couldn't move it into my spray area yet as the table and chairs where being done at the time and the delivery guys wanted to put it down asap.
Here it is finished, and moved into it's new home-mine :)

I did a rubbed, time-worn finish and added some dark wax to the details to make them 'pop' a little more. Then added some mother-of-pearl knobs from Anthropologie which I am still mulling over... And now for my NEXT project:

The inside - I am going to paint it I think, and try to stay away from the usual blues! Any suggestions? And add some cork board to the door panels. It's getting there.

Lastly, in my previous post I mentioned my daughter getting frustrated that all these pretty pieces were going to other homes and none to her...so at her birthday party in early December I gave her what she wanted most; a lift top vanity with crystal knobs. Here is her reaction:

She was so excited, I just love the joy in her face (and the scowl on her brothers) ;D!

About Me

Hi! I am Cameo Bliss (yep, that is my real name). I am a mother to 3 amazing little people, wife to an amazing guy, a furniture refurbisher/refinisher, home decor retailer, and decorater. Originally from the Seattle area, we currently live in Austin Tx and are loving it. Thanks for stopping by to visit my blog, where I track my projects and lessons learned along the way.